Don't Come After Me
by nekluvshp
Summary: Sasuke was a mile away from Konoha. A distance he could have easily covered in under five minutes, when he felt it. He wasn't sure what it was at first. All he knew was that it was worst thing he had ever felt and he never wanted to feel it again.
1. Pang!

Don't Come After Me

**Don't Come After Me**

Sasuke was a mile away from Konoha, one freakin' mile. A distance he could have easily covered in under five minutes, when he felt it. He wasn't sure what it was at first. All he knew was that it was worst thing he had ever felt and he never wanted to feel it again.

The 18-year-old Uchiha clenched his fist over his heart when he was hit with another pang, this one stronger than the last. His foot caught on a branch and he fell. He could vaguely hear the shouts of teammates trying to make sure he was ok. He registered none of this until he felt the air leave his lungs when he slammed into the ground.

"Sasuke are you ok?" Sakura asked when she reached his side. He couldn't speak due to the lack of air he was currently getting so he gritted his teeth and nodded. Kakashi walked over and helped him up. "You sure?"

_Pang!_

There it was again. Sasuke fell to his knees and grabbed his chest. _'What is going on? Where is this coming? Why doesn't it physically hurt'? _Those were just some of the questions running through the stoic man's head.

Suddenly, a single word passed through his mind. Actually it was a single name.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke didn't wait to mention what he was doing. He just got up and ran like hell. He knew something was wrong and he was going to kill whoever was doing this to his dobe.

--

Sasuke had been back in the village for a little over two years now and the very next day was his and Naruto's one year anniversary. And Lady Tsunade had the nerve to send him on a mission where he might not make it back in time. It also happened to be Naruto 18th birthday.

--

_The raven had come back for one sole purpose, one that he never shared with anyone and no one ever asked anyways. He came back for Naruto, his dobe._

_He didn't like what he felt the moment he stepped back into the village. Something was off but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. So he did what he always did; he shrugged and continued walking. _

_The moment Sasuke reached the Hokage Tower he figured out what was wrong. It was too quiet. Sure there were normal village noises and whatnot but something was missing._

_Where was his dobe?_

_Even if no one knew he was back yet, Naruto had a six sense about this kind of thing. Or seventh or eighth, however many extra ones he seemed to have. _

_When reached the Hokage's office, the Uchiha heir didn't bother knocking. _

_When she heard the door open, Tsunade looked up from her work. Or at least from her desk. The chances of anyone actually catching her doing work were about the same as Naruto _not _wanting ramen._

"_Uchiha." The woman seethed. She wasn't going to easily forgive the man in front of her for what he did to Naruto. _

"_Why are you here?" Tsunade asked when he didn't speak. "I want to come home." That was as simple as he could make it. _

"_What of Orochimaru?"_

"_Dead."_

"_And your brother?"_

"_No."_

_Tsunade blinked in confusion. "What about your revenge? I thought that was the most important thing to you"_

"_It was and it still is important. I've just had some time to straighten my priorities." Sasuke replied. "I see." She paused to think._

"_What about your plans for restoring your clan?" _

"_I still have them." Tsunade raised an eyebrow when he didn't go on._

"_Are you going to elaborate?"_

"_No."_

"_Fine then, be that way. Now about your re-assimilation into the village…"_

_After an hour of listening to Tsunade babble on about all his new rules she finally allowed him to leave. _

_As the raven haired man reached the door he remembered something he wanted to ask. "Where's Naruto?" He asked without turning around._

_He heard Lady Tsunade sigh. He didn't like the saddened tone in it. "He's at home." She said just as sadly, if not even more so. _

_Sasuke's hand was still frozen between himself and the door. He couldn't decide if he wanted to see what was wrong for himself or hear from her first. He walked back to her desk and really paid attention for the first time in the hour and a half that he had been there. _

"_You have no idea what you did to him when you left." She said as she opened a drawer. She pulled out a bottle of sake and two cups. Then she gestured one to him and he shook his head 'no'._

"_What happened?" He asked after the Gondaime took a drink of the foul liquid. "After you left, Naruto slowly went into a spiraling depression. No one even noticed what was happening to him. Then he went with Jiraiya to train so no one even saw him for over two years." She finished of her second cup._

"_When he came back still no one noticed the change in him. It took three more months after that for us to finally realize what was going on." _

_Sasuke was listening so intently that every time she paused, the silence deafening. "How did you find out he was depressed?" _

"_At first it was little things. He started to withdraw quite a bit. He was barely seen eating, even at Ichiraku's. When he was seen there he wouldn't even finish his first bowl." Sasuke couldn't help but to chuckle at the thought of the way Naruto eats ramen._

_At the interruption, Tsunade tossed the now empty sake bottle aside and pulled out two new ones. "Are you sure you don't want any?" This time he took the offered bottle. He thought he was going to need a little something to calm his nerves._

"_His friends started noticing that he always seemed tired and that he was getting thinner. Iruka and Kakashi both tried talking to him but he kept insisting that he was fine. Finally they were concerned enough to bring him to me, though it was rather unwillingly._

_I had him undergo a psyche evaluation and it was confirmed that he was depressed. But that wasn't even the worst of it." She had to take a break here because tears were starting to well up in her eyes. It was still difficult for her to believe that Naruto of all people was acting that way._

_The Uchiha waited patiently for her to regain her composure before asking, "He didn't try to kill himself, did he?"_

"_No it never got that bad, thank Kami. I had him start taking an anti-depressant and it seemed to be working. But a week after the meds kicked in he started lashing out at people and he rarely left his apartment. It was horrible to see him like that and there wasn't much I could do to help him._

_On one of the rare occasions that Naruto left his home, he ran into Neji and it's a good thing he did or else he might have died." Tsunade had to take another pause here. _

_She had almost finished her third bottle and Sasuke drank just enough to keep him self calm for the moment. _

_It took almost ten minutes for her to continue. "Naruto looked like the walking dead. His skin was pasty, his eyes were blood shot, and you could see his ribs poking out. The moment Neji saw him he activated his byakugan. Naruto's chakra was almost completely depleted. _

_His immediate reaction was to bring him to me. But of course he wasn't going to move on his own so Neji tried to grab him. In his weakened state it wasn't that difficult. His jacket ripped in the process revealing scars and half healed wounds on his arms. Apparently, Kyuubi refused to heal self-inflicted wounds unless they were life threatening._

_By this point, a few more of his friends were trying to help but they all froze when they saw the cuts. Naruto completely broke down right there in the middle of the street." _

_As strong as the Gondaime was, she couldn't keep going after that. Sasuke had paled and seemed to be in shock. Someone suddenly spoke up._

"_It turned out that Naruto never took his medication." Neither Tsunade nor Sasuke remember the door opening or Sakura standing against a wall during most of the story. _

_The Uchiha heir turned around as she walked up to him. She didn't seem upset or shocked to see him. There was evidence that she had been crying while listening to the retelling of Naruto's depression._

"_He's gotten a little better now. But I have to take his medication to him every day or else he won't take it himself." The pink haired girl explained. "Do you want to go see him?" _

_He couldn't speak at the moment so he nodded and followed her to the door. _

"_Sasuke…" The Hokage started. He looked over his shoulder. "Please don't do anything that might upset." He rolled his eyes, like he would do anything that stupid. "Oh yeah and welcome home."_

--

Well this is a first for me. I don't have many stories post on this site but I do on several others. My stories are usually very lovey dovey but I've been feeling rather depressed lately and I've read a lot of these so I wrote one myself. Not sure how many chapters it'll be. Not many I know that for sure but we'll see. Oh, it would be real nice if you reviewed. Thank you


	2. We Meet Again

Sasuke didn't know how he knew, he just did. There was something wrong with his Naruto, with his dobe and wasn't going to stop until he knew what it was and that it was taken care of.

The closer he got to the village the more painful the pangs got. If Sasuke would have been anyone but an Uchiha, he most certainly would have cried. But his years of apathy and Uchiha blood had trained him other wise.

Kakashi and Sakura tried their best to keep up but something was driving him and they knew it wouldn't be easy. They just wished they knew what so that they could help.

They could here Sasuke's voice as they followed him but they couldn't understand what he was saying. They could discern that he was repeating himself though.

The only though running through the young Uchiha's head was Naruto, what could be causing him this much pain, and who is doing it to him. Beyond that, he knew nothing of anything.

"I'm coming Naruto. I'm coming Naruto." Over and over again he repeated. He wished he had some way of letting his blond know how close he was to him.

Moments later, the gate was in his view. This only made him pick up his pace. By the time he actually reached the gate, he was moving at a speed that would impress Lee.

Sasuke did not stop once he reached the gates. The guards there saw him a mere dark blur.

Kakashi ordered Sakura to tell the guards what just happened and then go straight to the Hokage. He continued to follow Sasuke who was completely out of sight now. Not that it mattered really.

Kakashi knew exactly where he was going.

--

_Sakura and Sasuke walked in complete silence most of the way to Naruto's apartment. Sasuke could feel her looking at him every so often and it was annoying him to no end. _

"_Is there a reason you keep looking at me?" He asked without looking at her. "I just thought we'd have to drag you back here kicking and screaming." She said quickly. _

_Of course that's why she kept looking at him. After three years of chasing him it felt weird that he just walked in on his own. _

"_I'm sorry." He said quietly. His head was down and his face was obscured by his raven locks. Sakura could here the sincerity in his voice though and didn't press him to explain himself. If he wanted to talk, he would in due time._

_When they reached Naruto's door, Sasuke suddenly felt apprehensive. How would Naruto react to seeing him after all he's been through? Would he hate him? He'd hate him if he was in Naruto's position. _

_Before Sakura could knock, the door opened revealing Sai: The Emotionless-Boy Wonder. He smiled when he saw her. He glared at the Uchiha though. _

_In the short amount of time they'd known Sai, he'd finally learned a few emotions. But this was new._

_As far as she'd known, he didn't inherently hate anyone but the look he was giving Sasuke felt like it should have been melting him. That's probably what Sai was doing in his mind anyways._

"_Good morning Sai." Sakura said as cheerfully as possible. He tore is gaze from Sasuke and smiled again. _

_He stepped aside and allowed them entrance. "Where is he?" Sasuke asked before the door was shut. Sai was not going to answer him so he just pointed in the general direction of the bedroom. Sakura knew this meant he was still asleep. _

"_I'll go wake him up." She said walking away. She turned and looked at them when she reached the hallway. "Please don't kill each other."_

_Sai nodded and Sasuke 'hn'ed. _

_Naruto living room wasn't very big but it looked cozy enough. Sasuke plopped himself down on the couch and took a deep breath. Sai, having no where's else to sit, took to leaning against a wall. _

_--_

"_Just five more minutes." Naruto mumbled when Sakura tried to wake up him. "Naruto you always say that and it ends up being closer to five hours." She said trying to pull his blanket off. _

"_Sakura now I'm cold." He said as he curled up a little when she succeeded in stealing his blanket. "Just sit up and take your medicine."_

_He did and glared half-heartedly at her the whole time. "Can I go back to sleep now?" He asked. He crossed his arms and pouted a little. "No you can't. Besides, I have a surprise for you." She said with a bright smile. _

"_Really?"_

"_Yes. Now get up."_

"_Thank you Sakura!" He shouted and glomped her. She smiled again. He didn't even know what the surprise was. He was starting to act like the old Naruto again. Finally._

"_Ok Naruto that's enough of that." Sakura said as she stood up. "So where is it?" He asked. He was practically jumping up and down. _

"_Come on." She gestured for him to follow her and he did so without question. _

_When they reached the living room, Sai was still leaning against the wall but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he Sai? You didn't kill him did you?" She asked with her hands on her hips._

_He smirked. "He's in the bathroom but thank you for asking."_

"_Who's in the bathroom?" Naruto asked as he sat on the couch. "Your surprise." Sakura replied. _

_Thirty seconds later, they heard the sound of flushing and bathroom door opening. Sakura waited with baited breath, Naruto was acting giddy as a school girl, and Sai just stood there looking bored out of his mind with the whole situation._

_When Sasuke walked into the room, the only thing he saw was Naruto. The only thing Naruto saw was Sasuke. _

_Naruto slowly stood up. "S-Sasuke?" He asked in disbelief. Sasuke couldn't even manage to say that much so he nodded slightly. _

_Naruto walked up to the stoic Uchiha and tentatively placed his fingers on his face as if he was making sure he was real. "Sasuke." He repeated and threw his arms around the older man's neck. _

_This was not what he was expecting. Hit? Yes. Kicked? Yes. Hugged? No. _

_Once he was over the initial shock of being hugged, he hugged back and finally found his voice. "Naruto."_


	3. A Dobe, a Teme, and a Lemon

_When Naruto finally let go, his cheeks were stained with tears. _

"_Dobe, when did you get taller than me?" Sasuke asked when he realized he had to look up slightly to look Naruto in the eye. With that said, Naruto smiled. It was the first real smile anyone had seen on him in a very long time. _

_The two of them were pulled back to reality by a high-pitched squeal from Sakura. She thought that this was the beginning of old Naruto returning to them but Sasuke knew different. The smile may have been genuine, but it didn't reach his eyes. The damage had been done and was irreparable. _

_The stoic Uchiha smiled anyway. He may not have been able to fix him but at least he could make sure he wasn't broken any farther. _

_A shove on the shoulder pulled Sasuke from his reverie. "Oi teme!" _

"_Yes dobe?" _

"_I asked you if you wanted to get some ramen with me."_

"_hn."_

"_Teme!"_

"_Dobe!"_

_Naruto started laughing his ass off. Uchiha's don't really laugh but Sasuke made an exception in the case. Sakura sighed in relief. "It looks like things just might go back to normal." She said to Sai. He didn't really care much._

--

When Sasuke reached his front door, he didn't bother with checking to see if it was locked. He wasn't planning on using the doorknob either. It's just so much faster to kick the door in and that's what he did.

The first thing that set off an alarm in his head was how quiet it was. With Naruto around, it was never quiet.

The first place he checked was their bedroom. It looked exactly like it did when he left. We went in just be sure though.

_Maybe Naruto's not home? He's probably blowing all the money from his last mission at Ichiraku's._ He thought as he sat on the perfectly made queen size bed. He kicked off his shoes and laid back.

The Uchiha took a deep breath and sighed contently. The bed smelled like a wonderful mixture of himself and his blond. A wave of nostalgia hit him and he road through the memory of the first time he and Naruto made love.

--

_There were tears spilling over in Naruto's eyes. I stopped moving and wiped them away with my thumbs. I didn't like seeing him pain but I knew it would be alright by the end. It would be so much more than alright. _

"_Ah, Sasuke it hurts." His eyes shut tightly once I began to move forward again. "I'm sorry Naruto. I'll stop now." I said gently. He nodded in silent agreement. _

_This wasn't the first time this has happened, it was the fourth night in a row. We both wanted it very much but with everything Naruto had been through, including what I put him through, I didn't want to hurt him anymore. I was more than willing to wait._

_I laid down next to him and he cuddled up to my chest. "I'm sorry Sasuke." He said quietly. I put my arms around him and held him close. "It's ok. You have nothing to apologize for." I said just as quietly. _

_I knew that we both had an aching need at the moment but I didn't care about mine. I could take care of it later. Right then, everything was about Naruto._

"_Naruto stop squirming around." I said in annoyance. "Sorry teme but I just can't get comfortable." He retorted. I was about to argue back but all coherent thought flew out of my head when his still hard erection met mine. _

_I used my Uchiha control to keep quiet but Naruto all but screamed my name. It was the sexiest thing I had ever heard and my control was starting to slip. I knew I had to do something for both of us or neither of us was going to sleep much that night. My decision was made for me._

"_Sasuke, do you want to try again?" Naruto asked. He looked up at me with a sly grin on his face. Trying very hard not to sound too ecstatic I replied, "Are you sure?" _

_He ducked his head down so I couldn't see his face but it sounded like he was crying. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked as I lifted his chin. His cheeks were wet with tears but he was smiling. How it pained me to see him smile like that. There was still no light in his eyes to reciprocate and complete that smile._

_He closed his eyes and buried his head in my chest. "I love you, Sasuke." _

_At this point I had trouble holding back my own tears. I tightened my hold on him and buried my face in his hair. "I love you too, Naruto." _

_He pulled away from me a little and looked me directly in the eye. He was reading me like an open book and I was allowing him to._

_Finally after what felt like ages, he smiled again. This one was different though. There was a spark in his eyes, a mere ember. The light was returning and I planned on being there to fan the flames._

_I kissed him such force and passion that I could barely tell my lips from his. In that one moment everything we ever felt for each was melded together and shared between us. _

_Us, there was no longer him and I. In the brief amount of time we were one soul. _

_Because of the burning need for oxygen, we reluctantly pulled apart. I looked at Naruto. His eyes were half shut and he looked content. "Please just do it now Sasuke."_

_Nothing in the world would have stopped me from doing anything he asked of me and with this particular request, I was more than happy to oblige. _

_I maneuvered us so that I was lying on him again. "Are you really sure?" I asked before moving any farther. He cutely bit his lower lip and nodded. Why does he have to do that? I was already losing control fast enough and that just kicked half of it out the window. _

_I started moving slowly, watching him to make sure I didn't do something wrong. But apparently I wasn't moving fast enough for him because he thrust upwards and took half of me in. I wish he wouldn't have though. _

_Every time I see a pained look on his face, I die a little inside. I immediately tried to move away to lessen the pain but he wrapped his legs around me. _

"_I'm not a porcelain doll. I won't break." He said irritably. His legs tightened around me, forcing me in deeper. _

_I'm not going to lie, it felt amazing. But I didn't want it too unless he was there with me. _

_This was taking way too long. I started feeling like I was drawing out Naruto's pain. Without thinking or asking, I thrust the rest of the way in. He yelped when I did this. _

_I froze. I was terrified that I might have really hurt him. With my eyes clamped shut, I waited for him to say or do something. For a moment I thought he might have passed out or fallen asleep on me. That is until he rolled his hips a little. _Oh Kami did that feel good!

_I couldn't suppress the moan that escaped my lips. "Are you going to move or what?" Naruto asked as he rolled his hips again. "Naruto!" _

_I gave him the sexist look I could as I slowly pulled back out. He winced a little. I stopped with just the head of my cock in him. I waited for him to give me the ok to move. When he did, I couldn't keep my control any longer and I slammed back in. _

_Naruto's mouth opened in a silent scream and he arched off the bed a little. I wasn't sure whether it was good or bad but he looked beautiful. _

"_Are you alright?" I asked. His mouth was still open, his eyes were closed, and he was panting. He probably couldn't form a coherent thought let alone a sentence. He nodded and managed to stutter out, "D-do th-that again." _

_Jackpot!_

_Instead of pounding him into the mattress, which is what I really, really wanted to do, I started a slow and steady pace.. _

"_Sas-uke!" "Na-ru-to!"_

"_Ngh! Faster Sasuke!" Naruto panted out. I did _not _need to be told twice. _

_I quickly pulled out of him and flipped him over onto his hands and knees. I pushed the head of my cock back into him but before I could get the rest of it in, he slammed himself back as hard as he could. _

_The force of it knocked me back and I fell off the bed. I reached out to grab something and my arm wrapped around Naruto's waist. He went down with me and seeing as how we were still attached, he landed right on my lap. _

_I went deeper into him than before and with the new angle, I hit his prostate dead on. He screamed my name as he came right then. _

_Naruto slumped forward a little so I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him against me. "How was that?" I asked as I set my chin on his shoulder. He was still breathing heavily. _

_When he tried to talk all that came out was a croaking sound. His scream must have been too loud or too high. I inwardly smirked at this. "Good." Naruto managed to say. He straightened up a little. His shifting was making it very difficult to keep myself from pounding into him again._

_Naruto looked up at me and asked, "We can do that again, right?" "Whenever you want." I said before kissing his neck. "How about right now? You still have a big problem that is currently residing in my ass." He said with a wiggle. _

_My blond pulled away from me a bit and pushed back down. "Ngh! Naruto!" He repeated this action over and over, each time pulling farther away and slamming back even harder. _

_Suddenly he stopped and completely pulled away. I couldn't hold back the whimper at the loss of his tightness around me. _

_Before I had the chance to do anything, Naruto pushed me on my back. He straddled my waist before continuously impaling himself on my straining cock. I grabbed his hips and shoved him down harder. At the same time I started thrusting up as hard as I could. _Kami _I was so close. But there was no way I was going to cum alone. _

_I held Naruto's slender hips tighter and tried to get him to stop moving but he was putting up a good fight. "Naruto, please, slow down." I almost, _almost_ begged. Uchiha's _do not _beg! Finally he complied. In fact, he stopped all together._

"_Teme! I was so close!" Naruto yelled and weakly pounded his fists on my chest. "I know, dobe. I was too." I said as I propped myself up on my elbows. He crossed his arms, pouted, and bounced a little before flailing his arms and yelling, "Then why did you stop me?" _

"_Ngh! I didn't… stop you. I told you to slow down." I argued. He crossed his arms and pouted again. "You're adorable when you do that." I said and sat up all the way. _

_I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight. Then I carefully stood up and placed him back on the bed. "Naruto, I love you so much. I want to make love to you not just fuck you." _

_He leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. "I love you too, Sasuke." _

_I laced my fingers together with his and started moving again. This time it was slower but not painstakingly so. It felt just as good but in a different way, a better way. _

_I never wanted to forget this moment and I had the means to remember it as vividly as possible. I activated my sharingan and memorized everything about Naruto in that moment. I paid special attention to eyes. _

"_Naruto." I sighed contently. "Sasuke, please just a little faster." Naruto pleaded. Of course I did as he asked. I picked up the pace a bit, but not so much that the tenderness was ruined. Naruto rocked his hips upwards meeting me thrust for thrust. _

"_Sasuke, I'm so close, so close." He said as he pulled me closer. I kissed him deeply and felt his breath hitch. The next thing I felt was his warm seed splash on my stomach and his muscles clench even tighter around me. This was all more than enough to push me over the edge. _

_I pulled out of him and heard him whimper at the sudden loss and probably emptiness as well. I laid down next him and pulled him against me, ignoring the stickiness. _

"_I love you Naruto." I quietly said into his golden yellow hair. "Love you, S'uke." He was out like a light. _


	4. Beginning of the End

Sasuke bolted up right when he realized that there was something very, very wrong here. The bed was made. He had been gone for over a week. The Dobe never made the bed. He always left it for Sasuke.

Another thing that was off was that there weren't clothes scattered around the room. Naruto wouldn't clean up for their anniversary, maybe someone else's but not theirs. A third thing he noticed was that he hadn't felt anymore pangs.

"Naruto where are you?" Sasuke asked out loud. He got up to look around the rest of the house. He froze when he heard a groan coming from somewhere near by, possibly in the next room.

Without a second thought he got up and walked into the hallway. The door to his left was a closet. The door to his right was Naruto's bedroom before they had started dating. That's where the sound had come from.

The stoic Uchiha wasn't going to lie, he was terrified of what he would, or wouldn't, find on the other side of that door.

As he was reaching for the doorknob, Sasuke saw that his hand was shaking almost violently. Now that he thought about it, his whole body was shaking. He took a very deep breath and felt another pang in his chest. This one was so much worse than any of the others. It felt like his heart was breaking. "Naruto."

His knees gave out and he slumped against the door. "Naruto, what's happening?" Sasuke asked out loud as he slid to the floor.

He had one pale hand clutching his chest above his heart and the other was clawing at the door. He wanted something, anything that would make the pain stop. He wanted Naruto to open the door and tell him that everything was fine.

This time the pain didn't fully recede. It left a dull throbbing that he thought might have been worse than before. He couldn't even get his legs to hold his weight, it was so unbearable.

There was no way he could take it anymore. He knew whatever was going on was behind this door and the only way to find out would be to get it over with. He took another deep breath and opened the door.

--

"_Wake up Teme!" A loud voice yelled as a finger poked him in the ribs. "Go away Dobe." Sasuke said as he turned away from the annoyance and pulled his covers tighter around himself. Naruto was relentless. _

"_Sasuke don't you know what today is?"_

"_It's Tuesday. Now leave me alone." The Uchiha emphasized his point by throwing a pillow at the blond. Naruto hit him in the face with said pillow. "Baka today is your birthday."_

_Sasuke cracked an eye open. "So what are you doing here then?" "I came to celebrate with you!" Naruto said as he hit him with the pillow again. Fed up with getting hit by a pillow, the stoic man grabbed his own pillow and mercilessly beat the younger man with it. _

_After ten minutes of pillows and feathers flying everywhere, Naruto surrendered. Sasuke bopped him on the head one last time and a few more feathers flew out. "Look what you've done Dobe. You've ruined all my pillows."_

"_Teme you started it!" Naruto immaturely stuck out his tongue. _

"_Did not."_

"_Did to."_

"_I did not!"_

"_You did to."_

_Sasuke pulled his blanket over his head and tried to block out the blond. He was repeatedly poked in the head. _

"_Dobe! Knock it off. It's my birthday and I want to go back to sleep." He shook his head trying to avoid the finger that was still poking him. Then it stopped. The blanket was pulled up and Naruto crawled under it. "Fair enough. But I'm staying here with you."_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just shut up." He pulled the blanket off their heads and laid back down. Naruto curled up next to him so that they were practically spooning, not that either of them cared._

_Neither of them thought they'd be able to fall asleep, least of all Sasuke. He was out in less than five minutes and only for about five minutes when he got elbowed in the ribs. _

"_Dobe, sit still." He mumbled, holding him tighter. _'Wait a minute.'_ "Shit!"_

"_Naruto! Why didn't you wake me up when I put my arm around you?" He shouted and pushed the blond away from him. He fell off the bed, the blanket going with him and revealed Sasuke's almost complete nakedness. _'Shit!' _That wasn't the only problem._

_The angry Uchiha looked down when he realized there was a tightness in his boxers that should not have been there. _

"_I didn't mind the arm around me Teme. I minded having a hard-on pressed against my ass." Naruto said as Sasuke quickly covered himself with a deflated pillow. _

"_Well… get out so I can get dressed." Sasuke said while pointing to the door. The Dobe scrambled to his feet and quickly left the room, closing the door behind him. The raven smacked himself in the face with the pillow._

_Fifteen minutes later Naruto and Sasuke were walking down the road toward Ichiraku's, much to the latter's annoyance. _

"_Why did I agree to this again? I barely even like ramen!" The annoyed raven asked, interrupting the blond's non-stop chattering. "Because Teme, I'm paying." Sasuke rolled his eyes. He shoved his hands in his pockets but didn't argue. "Whatever, just don't do anything stupid."_

"_Of course not Teme. Who do you think I am?" Naruto asked feeling exasperated. The young Uchiha smirked and chuckled but didn't answer. '_Dobe.'

_A few of there friends were waiting there with gifts. Sakura and Ino were among them. Both of them were still trying to win Sasuke's affection but they weren't as adamant as they were in their younger years. They no longer fought about it either, at least not as much._

"_Dobe, I thought I said not to do anything stupid." Sasuke said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. _

"_So what, your friends are stupid?" The blond asked and flailed his arms. "Yes, they are." The Uchiha so bluntly stated just out of their earshot. Naruto pouted but continued walking._

_Sasuke reluctantly followed. He'd never admit it out loud, or at least not in front of anyone but Naruto, he'd follow that adorable pout anywhere. Now if only he could get Naruto to feel the same way about him._

_The brooding boy plopped down on a stool and promptly ignored everyone. _

"_Teme! People are trying to wish you a happy birthday!"_

_Said bastard turned to glare at the loud mouth then the others. "So? As I recall, I didn't want to come at all." Sasuke said and then turned away again._

_Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry guys. It looks like Sasuke's got too big a stick up his ass to even enjoy his own birthday properly." _

'_If I have my way Naruto, you'll be the one with something up his ass soon.' Was Sasuke's internal reaction to the idiot's statement._

_Ino put her hands on the raven's shoulders and massaged then gently. "I could loosen you up a bit Sasuke-kun!" She purred in his ear, just loud enough for a certain pinked-hair girl to hear. _

"_Ino-pig! Sasuke doesn't want you…" Said pinkette shouted angrily. 'Sakura's not as dumb as she looks.' "He wants me!" 'I spoke too soon.'_

_The Uchiha was fed up with hearing them argue over him. "What makes you think I want either of you?!" He shouted as he got to his feet. He continued before either could respond._

"_You – he gestured to Ino – are the biggest gossip and the most annoying person I've ever met!" Sakura gave her a smug look._

"_And you – he looked at the pinkette – aren't nearly as annoying as you used to be but I still don't want you either. Neither of you are my type. You never have been and you never will be!" He finished with a huff. _

_Both of them stood there in shock._

_Sakura was the first to recover. "Then, what is your type Sasuke?" He was grateful that she finally seemed to have dropped the Kun honorific. _

_He smirked as he gave his answer. "My type has… a flat stomach, a flat chest, and… a dick." He added in his head, 'And spiky, blond hair and the deepest blue eyes anyone's ever seen.' Only a few of the people present seemed to be surprised by this information._

_Sasuke walked away from the group._

_A few seconds later, Naruto caught up with him with the few presents Sasuke received. "Aren't you going to open these?" "Maybe later." He glumly replied. _

_They walked to the Uchiha compound in silence from there. _

_Naruto dropped the small pile of gifts on an end table in the hallway and followed Sasuke to his bedroom. _

"_Are you ok Sasuke?" He asked from the doorway. The raven-haired boy knew he was being serious from the lack of the word 'teme'. He was glad Naruto wasn't being an idiot at the moment but decided to avoid the question anyways._

"_So, what did you get for me Dobe?" _

_The blond started fidgeting and rubbing the back of his head. "Well… I… uh. I mean…that is to say… I… didn't get you anything." A smirk and the raising of a perfect dark brow was the only response he got._

"_I'm sorry Teme. I didn't know what to get you! I was hoping that I'd figure something out while we were eating but then the whole thing about you and being gay. Then you walked off." Naruto rambled. _

"_Naruto, its ok. You don't have to get me anything." Sasuke said with a chuckle. He sighed in relief._

"_But there is something I want. If you agree to it of course." There was a glint in those dark eyes, along with his smirk, that made Naruto think the wrong thing._

"_Teme, I'm not sleeping with you!"_

_Sasuke smacked him on the back of the head. "That's not what I meant baka! I wasn't finished either." Naruto rubbed his abused head._

"_Well maybe you should have said that first." He mumbled. "What did you mean then?"_

"_I was going to ask if you'd like to move in here with me. It's a big house and I thought you would like it if you weren't by yourself anymore." Sasuke explained. _

"_Oh."_

"_So, what do you say?" _

"_Well… I don't know." Naruto wanted more than anything to scream 'yes' from the top of his lungs. But he didn't want to seem too eager. Of course he thought he just wanted to be closer to his friend. His subconscious had other motives though._

"_I can make so that Sakura doesn't show up every morning to give you your medicine. You still have to take it of course." The Uchiha added as an incentive. He knew that would get the blond to say yes._

"_Really Sasuke? Will you let me sleep as late as I want?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed. _

"_Really. You can sleep in as late as noon. We don't want you progressing backwards." Sasuke said with a serious tone._

_A second later he was pulled into a bone crushing hug and had a blond head sobbing on his shoulder. "Thank you so much Sasuke."_

--

The sight that met his eyes made his blood run cold. Had he not already been on his knees, they would have collapsed under him. In fact, he fell forward and barely caught himself before his face met the floor.

The Uchiha's arms were barely holding him up, he was finding it difficult to breathe, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. His eyes had to have been playing tricks on him. There was no was he was seeing what he was seeing but he couldn't look away.


	5. Not Every Surprise is a Good One

A/N: I am so, so sorry for the... five and a half month wait for this chapter. There were something that got in the way. First, my laptop crashed and I had to get it fixed. I didn't get it back til christmas. Then I didn't have word back for another month and after that, it just took me this long to get inspired to write more.

In the middle of the floor was Naruto. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, a kunai in one hand and an envelope in the other. His clothes were cut up and soaked almost completely with blood.

Finally Sasuke was able to manage some sort of movement, he blinked. Still there. He blinked again. Still there. He blinked a third time. Still there. He forced his body up right and rubbed his eyes, which were now damp with tears, with the heel of his palms. Still there! Everything stopped.

----

_Naruto opened the door to the house he and Sasuke had shared for the past three months. He was met with complete darkness. He stepped out of his shoes and searched for the light switch. He smirked before flipping it on._

"_Surprise!"_

_Everyone was there, even Gaara. Naruto's face split into a huge smile as everyone came up to him to wish him happy birthday. He wasn't really paying attention to what anyone was saying though. His attention was currently on the stoic Uchiha on the other side of the room, smirking at him. _

_After greeting the twenty-something people, he was ushered onto the couch where a huge pile of gifts was waiting for him. He'd never gotten so many presents before. Tears started forming in his eyes. Sasuke noticed and quickly moved around the couch to stand behind him. _

_Naruto wiped his eyes before the tears fell. "Thanks everybody."_

_Half an hour later, the birthday boy was practically buried beneath gifts and wrapping paper. Sakura and Ino kept trying to stick bows on his head. He finally gave in and let them put a big orange one on him. Sasuke just kept snickering at him._

_"Tsunade Baa-chan, how come I didn't get anything from you?" Naruto asked after he had opened the last present. "Because I'm not giving you anything birthday brat. I'm taking something from you." Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Huh?"_

_"I'm taking… you off your medication." She said with a smile. "Thank you Baa-chan!" Naruto jumped over the arm of the couch and gave her a hug. She just continued to smile as she hugged him back._

_When he let go, he turned and faced Sasuke. "I didn't get anything from you either, Teme." _

_Sasuke chuckled. "Dobe, the party is your present from me. So is the cake waiting in the kitchen." Naruto perked up at the mention of cake. _

_With that said, everyone headed into the kitchen. _

_The raven-haired man watched Naruto walk around the couch and grabbed his hand to stop him when he walked by. Sasuke waited until everyone else had cleared out of the room before pulling the blonde closer and whispering in his ear. "You'll get your real present later Dobe."_

_The Teme's warm breath on his neck and ear sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. He gulped slightly as the Uchiha walked away. _

_Sakura appeared in the doorway. "Hey Naruto. Are you coming or what?" "Yeah I'll be there in a second." She smiled and walked away._

_Before joining the others in the kitchen, he adjusted his pants so it at least wouldn't be obvious that he had a hard-on. That would be embarrassing, to walk into a room full of people and have them all staring at his crotch._

_Naruto walked into the kitchen and saw the most delectable cake he had ever seen. He checked to make sure he wasn't drooling when he realized everyone was staring at him. _

_He felt like he was going to cry again. Here in this room were all the people that cared about him. It was one of the things he has always wanted. But that's where the happiness ended and it was only half the reason he felt like crying._

_Everyone outside that room thought him a monster, a freak. Naruto wanted everyone to trust him as someone that could be their Hokage and protect them. It didn't seem that would happen any time soon._

_Sasuke lit the big one and seven candles on the cake as the blonde was sitting at the head of the table. _

_Naruto was positively beaming as all his friends sang him happy birthday. He quickly blew out the candles and everyone cheered. _

_While everyone was distracted with small talk and eating their cake, the blonde birthday boy felt warm breath on the back of his neck and his ear. "Happy birthday Dobe." An almost husky voice whispered in his ear._

_Naruto felt his throat go dry and a tingle shoot straight down to his groin. He glanced back at his dark-haired roommate, who was now leaning against the counter, and saw the small smirk directed at him. _

_After what felt like hours, when it had barely been one, the last few guest left. _

_Now, Naruto was nervous. With the way Sasuke had been talking to him all night, he knew something was up._

"_So uh… what's my real present Teme?" He asked as the raven shut the door. Sasuke said nothing just walked to the hallway and motioned to be followed. The blonde swallowed heavily before going after him._

_By the time Naruto caught up with him, Sasuke was already in his own room sitting on his bed. He patted the space next to him. Naruto was hesitant._

_"I won't bite." 'Unless you want me to.'_

_Naruto felt his hands began to sweat. He stuck them in his pockets and hastily made his way to sit next to Sasuke before he changed his mind and locked himself in his room._

"_Can you just give me my gift so I can go to bed?" The birthday blonde asked quietly._

_The raven reached up above Naruto's head. Naruto felt a small tug on his hair and saw that Sasuke had pulled the bow off his head. "I forgot that was there." He said with a small chuckle._

_Sasuke placed the bright orange bow on his head and said, "Happy Birthday, Naruto." _

_Naruto stared at him for moment before turning his gaze to the floor. Sasuke placed a hand on the younger man's back. He could feel him shaking slightly. "Naruto, are you alright?" _

_The aforementioned blonde nodded and looked up into pitch black eyes that were carefully studying him. The tears in Naruto's eyes made them seem so much darker than what they actually are. He sniffled a little and replied, "Better, now." _

"_I'm glad you're feeling better." Sasuke whispered. "So… do want to be with me, Naruto?" _

_The next thing Sasuke knew, he had a pair of lips attached to his and a silently sobbing blonde in his lap. He allowed Naruto to ravage his mouth for a moment before reluctantly pulling him off. _

_Naruto tucked his head under Sasuke's chin and wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you Sasuke, thank you so much." He whispered back. _

_Sasuke maneuvered them so that they were laying comfortably in each others arms. _

_They had been laying there in silence for several minutes when Naruto yawned and then started to sit up. Before he could get off the bed though, Sasuke clasped his hand and pulled him back down. "Where do you think you're going?"_

"_I thought I was going to go to bed." The blonde said as he was forced to lay back down and spoon against Sasuke. _

_Sasuke held him tightly as he spoke. "There's plenty of room on my bed. You can sleep right here, tonight, tomorrow night, and every night after that." _

_Naruto quickly turned around in Sasuke's grasp and gave him a short, chaste kiss. "I would like that very much Sasuke." _

_Naruto cuddled up to the older man's chest as Sasuke pulled a blanket up around them. _

"_Good night Sasuke."_

"_Good night Naruto."_

----

Sasuke's entire world was frozen. He couldn't hear his ragged breathing or feel his heart franticly beating in his chest. He never felt his body move closer to the paling body of his love. He saw nothing but the broken man before him.

He reached forward and touched Naruto's pale and scarred cheek. The Uchiha didn't hear the footsteps coming down the hall.

Cerulean eyes fluttered open and looked at him. That face, the face of the one who challenged him, befriended him, chased him and loved him, smiled. Neither of them noticed the man in the doorway, frozen in horror.

Everything about that face was perfect and beautiful. Those endless blue eyes were full of the light that he had so desperately been trying to revive. Sasuke couldn't help the smile that graced his lips before the world that he had lost himself in so many times closed for the last time.

Sasuke's heart shattered into billions of tiny pieces. "No Naruto, no. You can't die. You can't be dead." He grasped the front of Naruto's blood soaked jacket and shook him a little.

"You son of a bitch. I only came back for you and now you leave me! I hate you. I hate you! Naruto, I love you, so, so much. Please don't go. Please."

His bloodied hands found their way to his hair and gripped it. Then, he screamed and, Uchiha pride be damned, he cried.


	6. Why?

A/N: This is the final chapter. Although the end may not seem like its the end because technically, its not. There is a one-shot sequel that comes next. I hope that I have it up in the next few days.

*Uzum is supposed to be crossed out

Kakashi was pulled from his trance by Sasuke screaming and then crying. It hurt to see that one of his students had killed himself and that another one was sobbing uncontrollably. He wiped his uncovered eye before moving. He knew he had to be the strong one, at least for now.

The older nin knelt next to the crying one and embraced him like a father would to console his son. Kakashi could feel the younger man trembling in his arms. Sasuke clung to him like his life depended on because in his mind, it did.

"Sasuke, I'm so sorry." Kakashi said quietly.

Sasuke pulled away from him and turned back to Naruto's body. He ran his hands through his hair and down face, the metallic taste of blood, the blood of his love, hitting his tongue.

He placed a hand on Naruto's hair and ran his fingers through it. Sasuke knew it comforted Naruto at night and now, he could do it only for himself.

"Why Naruto, why? I'm sorry if it was anything I did. I would have fixed it had you asked me to. I would have done anything for you.

"I should have taken you away from here, away from these people that looked down on you for something that you had no control over. We could have gotten married and adopted a little baby just like you always wanted, a real family, all your own."

A gasp from the doorway drew Sasuke's attention. Sakura and Lady Tsunade had arrived.

Tsunade immediately checked Naruto for a pulse. She wasn't expecting to find anything and she didn't. Then she pulled a sheet from off the bed behind her and covered Naruto's body with it.

The blonde sannin let out a choked sob as Sakura knelt next to, the now silently sobbing, Sasuke, startling him. He allowed her to hug him for a moment before shrugging out of her grasp.

"Sakura, I need you to get Shizune and a medical team here right away." Tsunade said quickly and quietly.

"Yes Tsunade-sama." Sakura replied. She gave squeezed Sasuke shoulder before swiftly standing and running out of the room.

"Kakashi, take Sasuke to my office please." Tsunade said after a moment of silence for Naruto.

The jounin that had been standing near the door since Sasuke started talking to Naruto nodded and moved toward the grieving Uchiha. Kakashi gently gripped his bicep but was shook off and pushed away.

Sasuke slid away from the silver-haired nin and closer to the sheet covered body of his blonde dobe. "I'm not leaving him."

Kakashi knelt down. "Sasuke you have to come with me. You can see him again after he's been cleaned up and they've done the autopsy." He said gently. "Right, Tsunade?"

"Of course you can Sasuke." She replied softly.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi with wide, fearful eyes. He looked so young and lost. Then he took one last look at Naruto's covered body and stood up. "Alright, I'll go."

Kakashi stood and placed a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder.

As he stepped over the threshold, Sasuke realized he forgot something and he froze. A gentle push and "Come on Sasuke," tore him from his reverie and he quickly turned around. But as he went to take a step forward, a hand gripped his bicep and held him in place.

Sasuke quickly yanked his arm away from Kakashi and moved back toward Naruto.

"Sasuke, you said you'd come with me. You're not changing your mind now." Kakashi said, perhaps a little more angrily than he should have.

The grieving Uchiha turned on his heel and glared at the older man, his sharingan spinning wildly. "Just wait." He said as calmly as any human being in his position could. Then he proceeded to Naruto's body.

Before anyone could figure out what Sasuke was doing, he knelt next to Naruto and pulled the sheet off his head and torso.

"What are you-" Lady Tsunade started, but was quickly cut off by Sasuke glaring at her.

First Sasuke took a moment to have one last look at Naruto's face. Despite the blood stains in his hair and on his face, he looked like he was at peace for the first time since Sasuke returned.

Finally he reached for the envelope in Naruto's hand, which Sasuke could hardly believe was already so cold, and clutched it to his chest. Then, he ran his fingers through that unruly blonde one more and kissed Naruto's forehead. "I love you Naruto."

"What is that?" Tsunade asked Sasuke as he stood up.

"It's none of your business." He replied in a cracked voice. He had just read the outside of the envelope and he could feel the tears coming back.

"Why is it none of my business?" She questioned.

"Because, it has my name on it." Sasuke said as the tears started running down his cheeks.

Clearly written in Naruto's handwriting, was one word:

Teme

Had this been any other occasion, Tsunade would have called him on it. But everyone knew of the nicknames Sasuke and Naruto had for each other.

Sasuke then turned and walked out of the room, quickly followed by Kakashi.

----

Naruto's funeral was held three days later. After the autopsy, it had been confirmed that he bled to death. So many people had been hoping that he had been murdered, because at least that would have meant that he didn't commit suicide.

As expected, there were many people there, mostly shinobi. The only civilians in attendance were Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku, and his daughter, Ayame.

The funeral had been over for quite some time now. Sasuke was alone and staring, just staring at the photo on top of Naruto's casket. He was alone, staring, and wet, very, very wet. Sasuke's gaze turned skyward for a moment. Why did it always rain at funerals?

Having been standing there for hours had Sasuke's feet screaming at him. But there was no way he was leaving. He couldn't, not yet. So, he sat on the hard, wet ground and continued to stare at the picture.

It was his Sasuke's favorite picture of both himself and Naruto, mostly because they were both in it. Sasuke was standing behind his blonde with his arms around him and his chin resting on Naruto shoulder. Anyone who looked at this picture would know that they loved each other.

Sasuke woke with a start when a hand touched his shoulder. At some point he had fallen asleep. A quick look in front of him told him that Naruto's casket was gone and probably buried.

"Sasuke, go home." The man standing next to him said.

"What home?" He spat back.

"Ok, go to your house." Kakashi said.

Sasuke sighed and buried his face in his hands. "I can't. It's too quiet there."

Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him up so that he was standing. "Come on." Kakashi said quietly and walked away. He could faintly hear Sasuke's footsteps following him.

What seemed like hours later, Sasuke was standing, alone, in his bedroom doorway. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to hit someone. He didn't know what he wanted to do.

He slammed his bedroom door shut and slid down it, crying. In his entire life, he had never felt so alone, even after his entire family was killed.

A crinkling sound attracted Sasuke's attention. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the still sealed envelope from Naruto. He hadn't read it yet. He wasn't ready and he still wasn't, but he had to read it sooner or later.

A choked laugh escaped his lips when he read the name on the outside of the envelope.

Sasuke took a deep breath and opened the envelope as quickly and cleanly as he could.

It said:

Sasuke,

I'm sorry it turned out this way. I didn't want it to, but I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take the looks, the whispers, the ridicule, and believe it or not, the beatings.

I know now you're probably angry at me for not telling you and at the people at hurt me. I didn't want you to do something stupid to get revenge. It didn't happen very often and almost completely stopped when we graduated from the academy.

I know you would have kicked their asses if they had done it to you or had you known they did it to me. But I couldn't attack defenseless people and still hope to be Hogake some day.

Being Hokage… seems like such a stupid dream now. Even if I did manage it, the people wouldn't accept me. I know I'd end quitting because the elders would want to fire me. I would never have given them the chance though.

I know I seemed to be getting better, even after I didn't have to take my medication anymore. But you and I both know that things aren't always what they seem.

I know how many times I chased you and tried to bring you home. I also know how badly you'll want to follow me into the afterlife. But as a last request, please, don't come after me.

I love you Sasuke.

Yours forever and for always,

*Uzum Uchiha Naruto

Sasuke read the letter over and over again until he passed out from exhaustion.


End file.
